Wheeling, W. Va. - After a long and grueling regular season, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (7-19, 7-15) heads into the Mountain East Conference (MEC) tournament as the #9 seed. They open postseason play with a battle against #8 seeded Alderson Broaddus on Wednesday, March 2nd, with tip-off at 2:30 pm. Last season, the team made a run to the MEC semifinals and are looking for similar success this time around.
They ended the regular season on senior day when they took on rival West Liberty University back on Saturday. The team fell behind early as the Hilltoppers came out and scored the first eight points, and the Cardinals could never recover from the deficit. The Cardinals defense played a much better game than they had in the previous matchup and held West Liberty to 28 fewer points than their previous game. However, Wheeling fell 82-46 and enter the tournament looking for a bounce-back effort as they enter the tournament for the third straight season.
One player who is entering the MEC tournament on a high is All-MEC First Team honoree Lauren Calhoun, who registered her 11th double-double in the last 12 games against West Liberty. She led Wheeling's scoring effort with 12 points and added a team-high 15 rebounds in the loss while shooting 28.5% from the floor. Calhoun earned the MEC's regular season scoring title with 507 points and an average of 19.5 points per game. She looks to continue to lead the team as they look to make a run in this year's tournament.
Behind her, freshman Shamia Strayhorn added a 12-point effort while finishing second on the team with seven rebounds. Strayhorn has played several different roles for the Cardinals throughout the season but came through as a top scorer for the team against West Liberty. Strayhorn has passed the ball around this season at a high rate, finishing third in the MEC with 94 assists and an average of 3.6 per game. Shanley Woods rounded out the scoring with eight points and a 33% shot from beyond the arc.
The Cardinals enter this year's tournament as the #9 seed and will be playing in a first-round matchup for the first time since 2020, when they defeated Davis & Elkins 69-60. They will play their first game at 2:15 pm and, if they win, they will go on to face #1 seeded Glenville State on Thursday with tip-off at 6 PM. The Cardinals have played two close battles with Alderson Broaddus already this season but have yet to overcome the Battlers. This time around they look to put it all together and find a way to pull out the win and move to the MEC Quarterfinals.
The Matchup
Wednesday's MEC Tournament Opener will be the 22nd matchup all-time between the two teams but will mark their first ever meeting in postseason play. In the previous 21 matchups, Wheeling has had the advantage with a 16-5 record overall, but Alderson Broaddus has been the victor in the two previous matches this season. Wheeling lost by a combined score of just 10 points in the two games played this season, including a game that went into overtime and saw the Cardinals fall by four.
However, the most recent game ended in regulation with the Battlers taking down the Cardinals 78-72 in the Alma Grace McDonough Center. It was a big night for Lauren Calhoun, who scored a team-high 26 points in the game while grabbing 14 rebounds. Shanley Woods also went over the 20-point mark in the game, finishing with 21 points to go along with a team-best three rebounds on the day.
The Details
Tip-off for Wheeling's opening round game is scheduled for 2:30 pm inside WesBanco Arena. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
